Game apparatus



(No Model.)

S S. PETERS. GAME APPARATUS.

No. 434,721. Patented Aug. 19, 1890.

q/Qhtuaoow "4 UNITED STATEs PATENT ()FFICE.

SAMUEL S. PETERS, OF MIDDLETOWVN, PENNSYLVANIA- GAME APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 434,721, dated August 19, 1890.

Application filed June 9,1890- Serial No. 354,738. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL S. PETERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Middletown,1n the county of Dauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Apparatus;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a the same.

My invention relates to games, and it has for its object the construction of a game ap paratus for parlor or other use.

The invention will be hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification,Figure 1 is a perspective of my improved game apparatus; Fig. 2, a plan thereof, and Fig.3 a transverse section. I

Reference being had to the drawings and the letters thereon, A indicates a circular board or table-top having an annular or circular track or way a, inclined inward toward the center to cause the balls I) used in playing the game to roll inward toward the open wall 0, and the balls are prevented from rolling off the board by the solid outer wall d. The inner wall 0 is formed of suitable pins or studs 6, having sufficient spring in them to cause the ball to rebound when it strikes them. The pins are set apart throughout the entire circumference of the wall so that a ball can lodge but will not pass between them except at the entrance to the grooves which cross the board, at which points the pins are set apart to allow the balls to pass between them readily and enter the grooves. The grooves are arranged in groups of three to each group, as atfg h, and the group, B O D E in pairs directly opposite each other, and all of the grooves incline toward the center of the board to cause the balls to gravitate to the center of the board. In the center of the board is a receptacle F, formed by projecting pins or studs 1', to hold the balls when not in use. This receptacle may be provided with a cover, if desired, to secure the balls while the board is being transported from place to place.

In playing the game for which the apparatus is designed the grooves f and h of each group are valued at five units, and the center groove of each group is valued at ten units; but to the player sitting opposite any one of the groups the center groove of that group is valued at twenty units, provided he can place a ball in it. The halls are thrown or rolled around the track or way a in either direction, and as they gravitate into any of the grooves count in favor of the roller, according to the designated value of the groove.

Twelve balls, corresponding in number with the grooves on the b oard, are used, and the game may be conducted as solitaire, or the players may be in pairs, seated opposite each other at the board.

In the rolling of the twelve balls it is possible for the player to score two hundred and forty by putting all of the balls in the center groove of the group in front of the player, and from this maximum number he may make many different scores with the possibility of casting all of the balls and scoring nothing, as they may all lodge at various points around the open inner wall 0. To make twenty in the center groove in front of the player, the ball must make a circuit of the track a. and enter said groove. The expert player will by his skill frequently dislodge a ball near the entrance to one of the grooves and cause it to enter the space between the pins and at the same time cause the ball played to enter the same or another groove of the same or an adjacent group of grooves.

The board or tabletop A may be made of ceramics, wood, metal, paper, or any material suitable for the purpose, and may be molded, stamped, or turned, and of various sizes, from eight inches to from four to six feet in diameter, and may be provided with ordinary table-legs.

is brought into requisition, and the force given to the ball is graduated so that to an expert it becomes a matter of ease to place a ball in any desired position.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A game-board or table-top having grooves crossing the board, an annular track or way surrounding said grooves, an inner wall perforated between the grooves and provided with passages at the entrances to the grooves to admit a ball thereto, and an outer imperforate wall, substantially as described.

2. A game-board or table-top having an annular track or way bounded on one side by a solid wall and on the other side by a wall formed of studs or pins and provided with groups of grooves crossing the board and arranged in pairs opposite each other and passages between the studs at the entrances to the grooves to admit a ball thereto, substantially as described.

3. A game-board or table-top having an annular track or way inclined inward and bounded by a perforated and an imperforate wall on opposite sides thereof and provided with grooves inclined from the track toward the center of the board and passages in the perforated wall at the entrances to the grooves, substantially as described.

4. A game-board or table-top havingan annular track or way inclined inward and bounded on one side by a solid wall and on the other side by studs or pins with spaces between them and provided with grooves inclined from the track toward the center of the board and spaces between the studs at admit a ball to the grooves, anda receptacle in the center of the board to hold the balls, substantially as described.

6. A game-board having an annular track or way, grooves crossing the board, aresilient inner wall perforated between the grooves and provided with passages at the entrances to the grooves to admit a ball thereto, and an imperforate outer wall, substantially as described.

7. A game-board having an annular track or Way, grooves crossing the board, an inner wall to said track provided with openings between the grooves in which a ball may lodge, but through which it cannot pass, and passages for the ball at the entrances to said grooves, and a solid outer wall, substantially as described.

8. A game-board having groups of three oppositely-arranged grooves of designated value, an annular track surrounding said grooves, a wall on the inner side of said track formed of separate resilient studs between which a ball may lodge and having passages for the ball at the entrances to the grooves, and a solid outer wall, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL S. PETERS.

W'itnesses:

ELIAS TROSTLE, J OHN MAGINNIS. 

